'Dinosaur football is out the gate' - Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers says the Finn Park playing surface has been stretched to its maximum as Harps get ready to welcome Galway United on Friday night. 

The new boss says if his side is to get up to speed with the type of style he wants to implement, then they’re going to need every single inch of the old ground that’s available to them. 

“Even in the First Division, this league is changing,” said Rogers this week. “Dinosaur football is out the gate. I know for a fact James Keddy at Wexford plays football the right way. Ian Ryan at Bray will try to play football the right way. 

“I actually had a chat with the groundsman the last day, I wanted it even wider. Our style of play is all about being on the front foot, pace and counter attacking. We want to get the ball into wide areas. 

“You can’t do that on a narrow pitch. To break lines and make third man runs, you have to have the time and space to do that. Our pitch is absolutely perfect at the minute. The grounds people understand just how myself and Darren want things done”. 

Rogers says he understands there will be a ‘rough and tumble’ element to matters at various stages in this campaign. And blending all of that together will be the challenge, at various stages, along the way. 

“At times, it will have to be a mixed bag. What we have to do is find a way to win football games, first and foremost. You do your homework and diligence on the opposition. But I’m not one of those managers that gets too bogged down with the opposition. 

“Yeah - we’ll show our players what they’re up against with various snippets. But at the end of the day it’s about what we do. We have to primarily focus on ourselves here”.